


Waiting in Starlight

by Anonymous



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Light Angst, M/M, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5442590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before Bucky ships out, he and Steve make a small promise and fairytale on the rooftop of their apartment. They had no idea how much it would come to mean to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting in Starlight

Fall was slowing giving way into Winter. The chill in the air grew steadily each night. The trees gave up their leaves and the grass shriveled under foot. The sewers had begun to show hints of frost and the breath that escaped Steve's lips whispered out from him, bathing his face in warm with each exhale. Still. He did not go inside.

His eyes were cast upwards towards the sky, his sketchbook laid forgotten in his lap. He could hear the sound of the radio drifting out the open window next to him. The sound of jazz filled their apartment. The warmth and light from their window laid next to him on the roof. A smile curved his lips as he listened to the sounds of Bucky stumbling around in the apartment. He could picture him now, his cheek flushed from exertion as he danced and swayed with the music; a sheen of sweat probably was sprinkled across his forehead as his body temper rose from his dance and his drink. Steve let his head fall back against the cold shingles behind him with a sigh.

"You know, Stevie, this is probably up there on that list of ways to catch your death." Steve didn't even have to look to know that Bucky forced his way out onto the roof. His torso pressed against the window seal as he leaned out and grasped Steve's chilled ankle. A lazy lopsided smile curved his lips. "What are you doin' out here, pal?"

"Just looking at the stars, Buck." Steve's words were quiet and content. Something in the way he said it made Bucky pause, a line appearing between his brows. He disappeared in an instance and before Steve knew it a blanket was unceremoniously dropped onto his head. "Bucky!" He flailed in the warm cloth before he managed to right himself. Bucky met his irritated expression with a grin. He smoothed out the blanket around Steve's shoulders and covered his head and ears with the rough wool.

Steve breathed in, he could smell the slightly sweaty musk of Bucky on the blanket, but he could also smell the faint hint of smoke and and brandy. He curled his fingers around the blanket covering his collarbones and inhaled quietly, savoring the smell. He felt the vibration as Bucky kicked his legs out infront of him and collapsed back against the shingles with Steve.

"And what is in the stars, punk?" Bucky murmured, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a smoke. The light illuminated his face, the shadows caressing the curve of his jaw and the light kissing his lips. Steve would never grow tired of looking at Bucky. He could fill a thousand sketchbooks with his form and it would still not be enough.

"I was just...I was just wondering if they'll look the same to you when you are overseas." Steve's fingers tightened on his sketchbook in his lap, swallowing around the thickness in his throat.

"Of course they will, stupid!" Bucky's response was immediate. He looked at Steve, his eyes catching those cornflower blue ones that haunted his soul. He could see the agony that Steve was trying so hard to hide from him. They only had a few days left before he shipped out for England. He cast his gaze upwards towards the sky, looking at the cluster of stars off in the distance that lit up the sky in pale light. "Look there. No, there." He gripped Steve's chin in his hand and pointed it towards the smattering of lights and clouds. "You see that group of stars right there? That's....umm...That's Lyra! Yeah, that's Lyra."

"Pretty sure that's Vega, Buck."

"Shuddup, I'm telling you a story, punk."

"Sorry, Buck. Go ahead."

"Good. Okay. So that's Lyra. Well Lyra...Lyra is an artist." Bucky's eyes drifted to Steve's lap where he knew under the blanket he was hiding his sketchbook. "So yeah, Lyra is a famous artist and is sought by all in the land. Lyra had wealth, riches, and could have any dame he wanted." He waggled his eyebrows at Steve, grinning broadly at the exasperated look Steve sent him. He pushed away from the roof and turned to face Steve. His body was framed by the stars behind him and Steve suddenly had trouble swallowing.

"So Lyra had a best friend..umm..Vega, yeah, see you know the story. And Vega and Lyra were inseparable, good ol' right pals, you know? And Lyra and Vega did everything together. Vega was Lyra's bodyguard, because you don't get that famous without needing someone to keep your nose clean, Stevie." Bucky's voice went from teasing to serious, the laughter in his tone turned somber. "So Vega was always there for Lyra. Lyra wasn't an easy target. He was strong, passionate...beautiful." His eyes flickered over Steve's face, his voice growing husky.

"And Vega?" Steve whispered softly.

"Vega...Vega was a fool. He thought he had it all. He wasn't anything close to Lyra. He couldn't compare to the warmth, the goodness, the love Lyra had for the world." Bucky shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Lyra was everything. They fought against everything together and would always. They would stand strong together." He felt Steve's hand slip into his own and tried to figure out where this story was going. He knew it could only go one way. "Vega...Vega had to protect Lyra's world. He had to stand strong so no one could ever hurt what mattered most to him. He had to. He never did anything except for Lyra's sake." He tightened his hand on Steve's, his eyes locked with his, and he felt a sense of urgency fill him. He moved closer to his friend as he caught the shiver that raced through Steve's body. "Vega knew he had to do what was right. What Lyra felt was right. So he had to leave. He wanted nothing more to stay with Lyra, but he had to go." He swallowed against the tears that burned his eyes and throat.

"Look up there, Stevie." He whispered, he pointed towards a star that glimmered in the sky. "See that? That's Vega. And that...." He traced his finger along the line of stars to another that burned just as bright. "That's Lyra. They're separated right now, but they are there. They are in the sky together. Only a little distance is between them. Just a little."

Steve felt his eyes burn and he blinked in an attempt to keep them at bay but he felt the hot liquid trickle down his cheek.

"And even if they are apart, Stevie, look at how brightly they shine for each other. Look. They are a beacon, calling to each other. Calling for each other till they can come home together." Bucky's hands framed Steve's face. "Together, Stevie." His fingers were cold against Steve's cheeks but they delicately wiped away the tears on his cheeks. "Even apart, they are together, Stevie."

Steve gazed passed Bucky at the stars and the dam seemed to have broken. All the tears and weakness he had been trying to keep from Bucky seeped out. His body was wracked with sobs but he couldn't deny that the stars have shone brightly.

He dropped his sketchbook to the roof and wrapped his arms around Bucky's neck, clutching desperately at him. He buried his face against the skin of Bucky's neck, inhaling his scent, memorizing this moment forever. Bucky's fingers tangled in his hair and his other arm wrapped tightly around him, pulling Steve into his lap. "Stevie...you're my Lyra." He whispered against his skin, his lips tracing along Steve's jaw. "Lyra."

"Vega." Steve answered the call, the word breathed out to the unspoken words. Their lips met and the stars above them shone with their promise.

* * *

 

 

 

Winter was already upon them. Fall had finally breathed its' last breath and gave way to the icy cold and bitter winds. The wind howled and rattled through the streets but the skies were calm. Snow glittered and covered the sidewalks and streets. The sound of the city swirled below but up within his apartment, the world was shut out.

The sound of smooth jazz drifted throughout the walls, no longer upbeat and dance worthy but slow and filled with stories. The lights were dimmed comfortable. Steve curled up in the warm nook of his apartment. He had gotten the place just for the view. The nook opened up to a large window that had a large view of the night sky. The apartment wasn't far from their old home but it was high enough now to overlook the tall buildings that would have marred the view from their old home.

There was no joyful laughter of clumsy stumbling in this apartment. No smell of thick smoke and warm brandy. An old worn wool blanket lay draped across Steve's broad shoulders. The cloth had begun to fray but was cared for with a great tenderness. The sound of a pencil scratching over the surface of a sketchbook answered the sound of smooth jazz and the occasional sigh.

Steve's eyes traced over the picture beneath his fingers. He felt as if he could almost reach out and smooth the dark hair that drifted over that smooth forehead and tickled at those winter eyes. He could almost feel the thick strands as his fingers curled within them. He could almost feel the hard body beneath his hands and taste the flavor of smoke, brandy, and the undeniable taste of--

The pencil snapped in his hand.

The crack jarred Steve. He rubbed his palm over his face and exhaled a shuddery breath. It never got easier. As each year passed it still hurt and he still ached the same for a passion and love unfulfilled.

He lowered his hand and gazed out the large window towards the night sky, his mouth twisted with bitterness.

 

* * *

 

Everything was Winter. It was always Winter. The chill in the air was never as brutal as it was during the frozen months. The coldness seemed to seep into his bones and into the deep recesses of his soul. The chill filled him and merely caused the emptiness and hollowness inside him to ache.

The rush of blood, the crack of gunfire, and the dance of battle did not fill the emptiness. He felt nothing. He was nothing. The blood that pooled beneath his feet meant nothing.

He could taste the blood in the air. The shrill scream of alarms echoed in the facility. There was no one but him to hear it. He retrieved his blood covered knives from bodies as he retraced his steps from whence he came. He burst into the cold Russian night air and he escaped. The sound of shattering glass, the shudder of the earth, and the lick of flames followed in his wake. There would be nothing left for anyone to find. A small oil facility caught up in flames would just be another accident.

He slung his rifle across his back and knew the retrieval team would not be far behind him. He had completed his mission and there was nothing more for him here. It was empty, just as he was.

As he reached his drop point he paused and waited. He was still under the nest of trees. He had traveled far enough from the facility into the wilderness any other would have become lost. He waited at the base of the mountain but he felt something, something of unease that slipped in and settled in his gut. His gaze scanned the area carefully. He listened intently for the threat but there was none. There was nothing, just like him. Nothing but the snow, the trees, the mountain...and the stars.

 

* * *

 

The broken pencil tumbled from his hand and clattered to the floor, eyes wide. "Vega."

 

* * *

 

The snow crunched under foot, the wind rushed behind him as he struggled to get closer. "Lyra."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the stars they saw if anyone is curious. 
> 
>  You can also find me on [tumblr](http://zimaaktivov.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> New York Stars
> 
> Russia Stars
> 
>  


End file.
